With regard to previous surgical stapling instruments, a surgical stapling instrument could include a handle, a shaft, and an end effector, wherein the end effector could be inserted into a surgical site within a patient to staple and/or incise tissue located within the surgical site. In various embodiments, the end effector could be configured to receive a staple cartridge wherein, after the staple cartridge had been at least partially expended, the staple cartridge could be removed from the end effector and replaced with a new, unspent staple cartridge. In order to replace the staple cartridge, in various circumstances, the end effector had to be removed from the surgical site. While suitable for their intended purpose, such procedures required considerable time to perform. Disclosed herein are improvements over the foregoing; however, this discussion of previous surgical stapling instruments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims in any way.